My friends tell me that I'm a walking encyclopedia of useless information.
For some reason, I've been able to retain most of the information that I was exposed to when I was young, this includes almost everything that I learned in school, as well as everything related to pop culture. I'm thankful that my wife shares the same passion for pop culture franchises that I do, as it's something that we can enjoy together, and our kids think it's awesome that we love the same things that they do, like Star Wars and Marvel, and their friends even call me fun dad because I actually know about the characters and stories and their parents don't.
Murf - it is a absolute pleasure to meet someone else that appreciates the show Dark Shadows. My mother also watched the show when she was younger, and she showed it to me when I was 4 and I loved it immediately. I think that Jonathan Frid was perfect as Barnabas Collins, and I loved the supernatural elements of the show and the way episodes would end with cliffhangers, just like the 60s Batman show. The theme song was also very awesome. I don't know how many episodes I've watched, but I've always wanted to watch the whole series, and I know there are over 1000 episodes, so I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. Man, I wish that I had been here when you and Mike were having those conversations, I'm sure it was a lot of fun.
Did you watch the early 90s remake of the series? I liked it, but it wasn't as good as the original show, and it only had 1 season. They also made a movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, I thought it was good and definitely recommend you watch it if you haven't seen it yet.
I did like both Frasier and the X-Files, but I didn't think that Mulder and Scully should have ended up together, as I thought that it ruined the chemistry between them that they had in earlier seasons. I also didn't like the alien storyline, and preferred the different monsters they would chase each week.
As for the movies that you mentioned, I have watched Chariots of Fire and Ben-Hur, and I enjoyed both of them. The way you feel about Ben-Hur is the way that I feel about the movie The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Yvonne De Carlo, long before she starred in The Munsters. I was probably 5 the first time that I watched it, and for some reason it always stuck with me, it was such a strong movie and it certainly made a impression on me, and even now I try to watch it every few years.
I think it's awesome that Richard Kiley wrote back to you, and his decision to send you a letter speaks volumes about his character and the type of person he was. It's great to hear about a celebrity that takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate their fans. I'm sure that you cherish that letter, and it holds a special place in your heart. It's a beautiful reminder of the impact that one person can have on another, even if they never meet in person.
As for music, I like every type of music, and yes, I'm serious, from the classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, to the modern music you hear on the radio today, and everything in between, I will listen to any style of music. But believe it or not, my absolute favorite type of music is actually oldies, as that is what my mother was always listening to when we were kids so it just stuck with me.
My grandfather used to run a dance hall in the 50's-70's so music has always been a big part of that side of the family. I only have a few hundred records in my collection, but my mother still has a few thousand records at her place, I don't know the exact number but it's a whole wall from floor to ceiling, she has a whole wall of books as well, some of the records were from her father but most of them she bought for herself. I'm probably going to get her records when she passes, since my siblings don't really have a interest in them.
MauEvig - I was there on day 1 for Mario on the original NES in the 80s, and for Sonic on Genesis in the early 90s, so both characters are special to me. I also watched the cartoons that they both had in the 90s and I did read some of the comics as well. I have enjoyed the many games that have come out over the years for both of them, and still play them with my kids.
I also liked the movies for both characters, yes, I even like the Mario movie from the 90s, I know that people really hate that movie, but I don't. I did enjoy the recent animated movie as well, and I thought that it was great for younger fans. I did like both Sonic movies, and I know that they were trying to get a Sonic movie made for years, and as a fan from the beginning, I can say that they got it right.
I have various collectibles for both characters, from books to toys. I had collected toys when I was a kid, but I stopped right before I became a teen, and I didn't start actively collecting again until I had kids. The good thing is that my mother still had my toys from when I was a kid because she doesn't throw anything out, so I was able to get them from her, and I was shocked to find out that some of them can sell for thousands of bucks, mainly some of the Star Wars toys. Now I collect horror movie toys for myself, but I collect different types of toys with my kids, including Halloween related toys that they really like. I created a thread about Halloween toys a few years ago, but I know that they have got more since then.
My 14 year old niece is really into anime, and she has mentioned My Hero Academia to me before, she told me it is one of the most popular anime franchises in recent years, so I'll check it out eventually.
I had seen The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina listed while scrolling through shows, but I had no idea that it was about Sabrina the Teenage Witch until you just mentioned it. Does it continue from the original series, or is it a remake?
As for ThunderCats, I like both series, of course I like the 80s show better as I grew up with it, but I did like the story and character designs of the new show, and I thought the show could have got another season.
Teen Titans - I grew up reading the original comics, and I've watched the different versions of animated movies and shows that they have made, but I really liked the live action show called Titans. It was a dark and violent show that was right out of the comics, the first 3 seasons were just awesome, but the 4th season sucked and the show was cancelled. DC wants to reboot the company, so most of their shows are starting to suck, though I guess you could say the same thing about Marvel, as Secret Invasion really sucked, well, at least compared to the original comic story.
I guess people are getting tired of the superhero thing, there are a few reasons for that, mainly the writing is just getting bad. I think that both DC and Marvel have made some really bad movies this year, but hopefully they can come up with better stories and get fans interested again.
Andy - Tom Baker.
